Ground broken for men’s residential substance abuse treatment center
Dennison Mayor Greg DiDonato and Tuscarawas County Commissioner Chris Abbuhl help officials from the ADAMHS Board and Ohio Guidestone break ground for the Stillwater Crossing men’s residential recovery center. (WJER Radio)
DENNISON (WJER) (Aug. 9, 2023) – It was a big day for local substance use recovery efforts as advocates and community leaders broke ground for the area’s first publicly funded men’s residential treatment center.
ADAMHS Board Executive Director Natalie Bolon led a ceremony to kick off construction on a 16-bed facility called Stillwater Crossing that will bring inpatient drug addiction treatment closer to home for men from our region.
“We are breaking ground today for wellness and recovery and healing to occur. This is gonna be a place where people begin to make different paths in their life. This is gonna be a place where family and friends and relationships rebuild. This is gonna be a place where individuals can begin to find their sense of integrity and wellness and a future focus again.”
Ohio Guidestone operates the Riverhaven women’s residential treatment center in Dover and will run the one for men the ADAMHS Board is building along Dudgeon Drive in Dennison. Executive Director Pam Trimmer is looking forward to filling the final gap in the local recovery services network.
“I have been working with Natalie for over 20 years, and for the last 15 we have done nothing but talk about this and try to make plans and try to find a place. We know the need is here. There is no doubt about that, so I am all in. We are so excited to be operating this facility.”
Judges Elizabeth Thomakos and Nan Von Allman run the local recovery court programs and came out to show their support.
“Having been on the bench now almost 25 full years, this is something we’ve been waiting for for decades,” said Judge Thomakos.
“There’s just a tremendous need for something like this,” Judge Von Allman added. “I think Natalie made the point of when you have to send people out of the county or out of the state even for treatment, and then when they come back they don’t have the resources so it’s just gonna make a huge difference.”
The Tuscarawas County Commissioners helped the board land the property and contributed a million dollars from money the county received under the American Rescue Plan. Bolon says the project wouldn’t have progressed to this point without their support and guidance from Dennison Mayor Greg DiDonato.
“The first time we spoke to him, there was no hesitation. There was no pausing. He immediately talked about how can we make this happen and he has jumped in in ways that I would have never expected him to be able to help through the course of this past year.”
DiDonato was happy to lend a hand to such a worthwhile cause.
“I understand the process and I know people who have had a second chance and turned around. I’d like to think we didn’t lose that compassion. I’d like to think we still understand. I know some look at the ones that never want to change but there are many people that with a little bit of help and a little bit of reaching out do change and make it better.”
The board also received financial support from the state for the $2.7-million dollar project that’s expected to wrap up sometime in May.